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246 APPENDIX
Old Lawrence - - - A kind of maginary saint
or fairy, whose influence produces indolence.
* I cannot get up, for Lawrence ha'e completely got holt on me."
Out-gate - Uncanny or unusual.
Quiddy ? Que dis tu ?—What do
you say ?
Rath.....Early ripe, soon.
" The July friend is a rath ripe apple."
Runagate - A ne'er-do-well.
Rape ----- The division of a county.
Sussex is divided into six rapes, each of which has its river, forest, and castle—Hastings, Pevensey, Lewes, Bramber, Arundel, and Chichester. Rape in Doomsday Book is used for a district under military jurisdiction. The Saxon Rap signifies not only a rope, but also a measure of land. Lower in his " History of Sussex " has written :
" The word Rape seems to be peculiar to Sussex, unless it may be considered identical with the Hrepp of Iceland. That interesting island was divided into four quarters, each of which was partitioned into prefectures or sheriffdoms, and these again were subdivided into small districts called hrepps, consisting of families who lived contiguous to each other. Generally they were of the size of the present Icelandic parishes, and over each of these was appointed a hreppstiori or bailiff, who had the immediate inspection of his own bailhwick. From this it would appear that the Icelandic hrepp was a much less important territory than the Sussex Rape. The etymology of the word is uncertain ; but it seems to be connected with the Welsh rhaff, the Anglo-Saxon rdp, reap, the Danish reep, reeb, and the Gothic raip, signifying a rope. It was a practice amongst the Teutonic tribes to set out allotments by means of a cord or rope, just as a modern land-surveyor employs his Gunter's chain, and in Iceland the measure of laud is still by the rope." |
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